using copper

[jonathansruelas]

Hey everyone I'm doing the copper treatment again on a purple tang and a falco hawkfish. In how big of a period should I try to get the copper level at .5 and how long should I wait in adding more copper to get proper amount.. ?
thanks for the help

 

[MrTuskfish]

Unless the fish are really in trouble; I'd take several days to get copper from an initial dose of about .20 to a max of .35-.50. Most fish can handle Cupramine at over .5ppm, but .35-.40 works just fine and easier on the fish. Also, try to get the fish eating before adding any Cu. Keep the Cu at the max level for 4 weeks, longer the bottle instructions, but necessary---IMO & IME.

 

[jonathansruelas]

Do I still need to do water changes ? It seems like it will be harder to get the cu at a level that doesn't fluctuate . So .35 is goo enough to use for ich?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Do I still need to do water changes ? It seems like it will be harder to get the cu at a level that doesn't fluctuate . So .35 is goo enough to use for ich?

WCs depend on how you handle ammonia. if you planned ahead and have a seeded filter ready, ammonia shouldn't be a problem. but this isn't usually the case. Most ammonia test kits don't work with cu, but the stick-on ammonia badges do. Also, Prime, ammo-lock, and other ammonia-neutralizers are deadly when combined with Cu. so, you may be doing lots of WCs. Just match the Cu level of the make-up water to that of the treatment tank and all should be fine. its ok to make large batches of new water with Cu and use as needed. Cu stays in stable suspension a long time. There should be no LR , substrate, etc., in the Qt---this makes cu monitoring impossible. Cupramine at a minimum of .35 does completely kill free-swimming ich.

 

[jonathansruelas]

Thanks mr tusk . I am going to switch my treatment to salinity instead of copper. I just wasnt comfortable with usin it and neither was my fish, my purple had stopped eating and I couldn't really tell what the level was. Thanks for your help appreciate it